Two studies were conducted to determine if the Reread-Adapt and Answer-Comprehend (RAAC) repeated reading fluency intervention is effective in improving the reading achievement of deaf middle school and high school students. Participants included six middle school students and eight high school students. We found consistently good comprehension…

Many deaf students struggle with learning to read. This is the case nationally as well as at the Michigan School for the Deaf (MSD). In 2006, the elementary teaching staff began working together to implement a change in their reading instruction so their approach would be systematic and consistent across grade levels. With the diverse backgrounds…

The researchers investigated the effect of the Reread-Adapt and Answer-Comprehend intervention (Therrien, Gormley, & Kubina, 2006) on the reading fluency and achievement of d/Deaf and hard of hearing elementary-level students. Children in the third, fifth, and sixth grades at a state school for d/Deaf and hard of hearing students received a…

The researchers investigated the effects of the Guided Reading approach (Fountas & Pinnell, 1996) on the reading development of elementary school deaf students over a period of 2 school years. A single-subject experimental research designed was used. Qualitative analyses of observations of instruction and interviews with the teachers were…

The study assessed how well the field of teacher education in special education is preparing the next generation of teacher educators to be stewards of the discipline by exploring the particular case of deaf education. Assuming that preparing doctoral graduates who are able to conduct valuable and quality research requires mentoring by faculty who…

Investigates the efficacy of an instructional strategy for fostering writing development among students who are deaf. Explains that the strategy was designed to capitalize on the advantages and motivating influence of an online chat environment among peers. Indicates that the strategy was effective in promoting significant increases in the use of…

Determines whether mental imagery could be used as a metacognitive reading comprehension strategy by deaf elementary-level children. Finds that when encouraged to engage in mental imagery, students exhibited four qualities of thinking (recollection, representation, inference, and evaluation) during and after reading that revealed how they were…

The study describes the language acquisition of 20 young severely to profoundly hearing impaired children (3-5 years old). Ss were videotaped for 1 hour interacting individually with the investigator while using stimulus materials. Each of the four analysis methods (five stages of language acquisition by R. Brown, plan for language development…

Twenty severely/profoundly hearing-impaired children, aged three-six, interacted with the investigator while playing with toys. A significant relationship was found between imaginative play and language development. No relationship was found between imaginative play and chronological age. Correspondences were found between language development and…

Finds that children who are deaf use textual schemata (rather than content schema activated through thematic organizers) for comprehension processing while reading narrative text. (SR)

In this case study, the language and cognitive development of a 4-year 5-month old profoundly deaf girl and her normally hearing identical twin sister were investigated by videotaping the twins in their home interacting with each other, the investigator, and family members. Materials used with the children were designed to elicit spontaneous,…

This article discusses the use of a writing assessment rubric to structure writing instruction with examples from two classes of children who are deaf. It considers strategy modifications, using rubrics for instruction, and creating and using rubrics. Tables provide detail for a universal-type rubric, a modified universal-type rubric, a writing…

This article examines the issues underlying the relatively insignificant impact of research on literacy practice from the perspectives of the fields of literacy, special education, and deaf education. Recommendations are made for researchers and teachers of students with hearing impairments for bridging the gap between research and practice.…

A study explored whether a writing-assessment rubric could be used as an effective teaching strategy with 10 deaf children (grades 5 through 7). From fall to spring, students showed significant improvement in four writing qualities and no significant improvement in five qualities. The ability to individualize rubrics is discussed. (Author/CR)

The predictions that 48 students with deafness in grades 4-8 made while reading narrative text were analyzed to explore the influence of the children's expectations for text structure and content on reading comprehension. Findings indicated that interacting at a deep level with narrative text was more related to reader characteristics than to…